A massive media deal is in the works which would bring brands like Warner Bros film and TV, HBO TV series, Discovery's reality-TV shows and cable networks like CNN under one roof. Reports said that giants WarnerMedia and Discovery would merge and a deal could be announced on Monday.
US telecommunications giant AT&T owns WarnerMedia unit, a brand that owns CNN and HBO. A merger of the unit with Discovery media would create a super-sized media company that could take on companies like Netflix and Disney.
AT&T to Remain in Control of New Company
The new entity would be owned by AT&T and Discovery jointly, a CNBC report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Details were not shared, nor were the companies available to comment.
![AT&T AT&T](https://data.ibtimes.sg/en/full/48964/att.jpg?w=736)
Some reports said a deal could be announced as early as Monday, a Bloomberg said a deal could be announced announced as soon as this week.
$150 Billion Tie-Up
AT&T is in talks with with Discovery to hammer out a $150 billion tie-up to take the fight to the camp of streaming services Netflix and Disney+, the Guardian reported. AT&T had acquired the media assets of Time Warner for $85 billion some three years ago.
![Discovery channel Discovery channel](https://data.ibtimes.sg/en/full/48965/discovery-channel.png?w=670)
The US telecom giant now wants to offload the media content division WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery.
Discovery CEO to Run New Entity
While AT&T would retain control over the new entity, David Zaslav, the chief executive of Discovery, would probably be in charge of running the new company, the Guardian reported. AT&T has a market value of about $230 billion, while Discovery's market value is estimated to be $30 billion.